FridayReads Articles

Made to Last – what does it mean?

Walking in to work yesterday I had an inspired thought. Which was that the phrase “Made to Last” means more than simply ‘durable’.

I’m happy to be corrected by know-alls and so on but this is my reasoning…

Its all to do with Shoemakers!
If you know that a last is the form a shoe is made on then the phrase takes on a different shade of meaning. A last is often a wooden form made to the shape of a client’s foot though it is also the foot shaped anvil on which the shoes are made.

Something that is made to last is therefore becomes made to a pattern, so it isn’t durability but reliability that becomes the watchword.

I found this link which is about shoemakers and cobblers motherbedford.com/Shoemaker.htm though it does nothing to back up my possibly fanciful suggestion. I’m sure the folks at QI (@qikipedia) and the estimable Stephen Fry (@StephenFry) would have an opinion on such deep matters of etymology.